The Cordova Lancers’ 2025 season came to an end with a loss at Armijo on May 5. Photo by Rick Sloan

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The Cordova Lancers’ Spring season came to a close with a 7-4 loss at Armijo on Monday, May 5 in the inaugural California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sac Joaquin Section Division II play-in game. 

The Lancers (14-14-1 overall) trailed by two runs early before scoring three runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead. That is when the bottom fell out defensively however, as the Royals (19-9-1 overall) scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to take the win. Lancers’ head coach Scott Ahlstrom was unhappy with the defensive lapses late that ultimately let the game slip away.

“We had it won but we lost it,” Ahlstrom said. “Every time we battled back to score a couple or take the lead, we couldn’t get a shutdown inning defensively. When you work hard to score runs and take the lead, you can’t just give it back right away. You have to go out there and compete defensively, and we didn’t do that.”

For the Lancers, junior Levi Nyberg recorded two hits and two RBIs (runs batted in) to pace the team offensively, with freshman Nate Jones also contributing two hits and one RBI in a solid effort. Sophomores Bro Ahlstrom and Nathan Tran also tallied one hit apiece. On the mound, Nyberg collected six strikeouts in six innings pitched but gave up seven runs on six hits. Armijo had six different batters record at least one hit offensively. From the bump, senior pitcher Willie Nickson recorded seven strikeouts in five innings, but did surrender four runs on five hits. 

Despite the loss, Ahlstrom feels that the outcome may be a good thing in the long run based on the reaction he saw from his players on the ride home from Fairfield. 

“This is the fourth year in a row that we’ve made playoffs,” Ahlstrom said. “But this is the first time that the bus ride home was dead silent, and not because of coaches telling players to be quiet. It was the first time the bus ride was dead silent because it hurt guys. That is a really good sign, because the guys expected to be there and it hurt. So, I think that it was a big deal to make the playoffs, but I also think it was a big deal that we think we should’ve won it and them being disappointed because we didn’t.”

Looking ahead, the Lancers figure to return the vast majority of a young team that only featured one senior this year. Having an experienced group of young players should bode well for Cordova moving forward, and their coach is eager to see who has put in the time to get better this summer before the team reconvenes next school year.

“I’m pumped up for this summer and the fall,” Ahlstrom said. “I’ve outlined a lot of things. I’ve got a notebook for every guy on things they got to get better on and improve on. I’m excited to see what that does when we get back on the field for fall ball. I’m excited to see who put the work in, who got faster, who worked on this and that. I’m excited because I think we have the right guys who will buy in.”